Washington Facilities: What you need to know

Workplace facilities are regulated principally by federal requirements (standards) established under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act). The OSH Act governs much of the design, operation, and maintenance of workplace facilities, as these factors affect the safety and health of workers.

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Washington has its own federally approved, state-enforced occupational safety and health plan in effect, the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act (WISHA). This makes Washington a so-called “state plan” state, where WISHA standards govern safety and health at all state workplace facilities.

WISHA is enforced by the Washington Department of Labor & Industries' Division of Occupational Health and Safety (DOSH). For more information, go to http://www.lni.wa.gov or call 800-423-7233.

In most important respects, WISHA has adopted the standards of the OSH Act, although it has adopted some of its own workplace regulations as well (WA Rev. Code Sec. 49.17.010et seq.).

Facilities Products

EHS Essentials Kit: SPCC Plan ComplianceComplicated EPA laws do not have to be difficult to implement. Oil spill prevention is high on the list of EPA concerns -- does your plan meet SPCC and 2010 & 2011 amendments? "

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the 2008 Multi-sector General Permit (MSGP). The MSGP–2008 replaces the MSGP–2000, which expired in October 2005, and authorizes the discharge of stormwater associated with industrial activities.
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7 Steps to Assess Chemical Security RequirementsReport - DownloadThe U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule establishing risk-based antiterrorism performance standards for chemical facilities, known as the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards. The rule includes Appendix A-DHS's list of high-risk chemicals. If any of these chemicals are present at your facility, you may be required to register with DHS and develope a site security plan."

Record retention is complex and time consuming. However, in addition to complying with various federal and state laws, keeping good, well-organized records can be very helpful in documenting and supporting an organization’s employment actions.
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This special report will discuss how you can ensure your records are in good order, and establish a record-retention policy.